Kingborough v Northern Rangers (NPL)

Well the Lions steal a point with a late equaliser but they almost undid it, they threw people forward, looking for a winner themselves and it left them horribly exposed at the back twice, but a lack of composure costs the visitors the three points.

90+5′ Thannhauser should have won it!!!!!!!!!! It falls to him in the box, all alone and he tries to pick out the top corner but skies it. That’s the final kick of the game, the final whistle blows and a glorious chance for a last gasp winner goes begging.

90+3′ NUGENT SAVES THE DAY! A shot block right on the goal line denies Rangers a winner, Jones played it back across the face of goal and Jin took it at the far post, he tried to buy some room and fire it near post but Nugent makes a huge block! Probably should have squared to the unmarked man on the penalty spot!

90+2! GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1-1!!!SCENES! Adam Harmes saves his side. A corner is swung in and the sub who only just came on thumps the volley home after a header was flicked on to him!

90+1′ A Pearce free kick is swung in, it falls to Cowen whose shot is blocked, A lions player was brought down and they shout for a penalty but nothing doing!

90′ Shot off! A rebound falls to Jones who smashes a volley over the bar, at the right end of the pitch for the Rangers though.

SUB- Nick LA is off, on comes Lucas.

87′ SUB- Harmes on for Verdouw, time becoming an enemy of the Lions here.

85′ Shot on! Some sumptuous midfield work from Fulton plays through Danny Jin but he fires tamely at the keeper.

84′ Shot off! Nick La looks to bend a free kick to the far post but he gets too much of it, and its over the bar!

81′ Cowen almost played in and threw himself at the ball but it eludes him and the Rangers see it away.

79′ Slice of Cheese! A rather poor challenge Verdouw on the Town-House sees him into the book.

75! GOAL!!!!!!!! 1-0 RANGERS! We have a breakthrough, a cross isn’t cleared by Cowen and the ball slips to the substitue Kensley who smashes it home through a number of bodies! Not a bad way to mark your debut!

72′ Shot on! A fine cross from Nick LA wide on the left is met by the lunging foot of Jones whose volley is straight at Kamara.

72′ Shot on! A sharp Rangers counter leads to Thannhauser threading it through to Nick LA who blasts one from an angle but Kamara tips it over the bar.

69′ Shot on! Lokoes ambitiously blasts one from range with a left footed volley but he won’t beat a keeper of Whatman’s quality with that.

66′ Shot off! Big chance for the Lions! A long throw into the box from Verdouw is flicked on to perfection by Cowen setting a volleyed chance for Belstead who blasts it just over the top.

64′ 0-0 is a rare score in the NPL TAS, but at the moment the Lions are on track for back to back scoreless ties. A credit to the defensive stability Broadbent has brought them. Not the most aesthetic stuff, but undeniably effective.

62′ SUB- Lokoes on for Burns.

60′ SUB- Hall replaces Hoddy for the Lions.

58′ Rangers are probing, trying to break down the Lions but they keep running into a sea of bodies. Schuth has been immense and he makes a key block, whilst Herweynen wins a one on one with Humprhey as zigged and zagged trying to make space for a shot.

SUB- Rodriguez hooked for Kensley for Rangers.

55′ Slice of Cheese! Cowen into the book for a late challenge on Pat LA.

53′ Slice of Cheese! Jones into the book, was either for an early infringement or something off the ball, didn’t see the incident but into the book he goes.

46′ Play resumes here at the Den, can anyone find the breakthrough?

HALF TIME: Kingborough Lions 0-0 Rangers

A pretty dour first 45, Rangers firmly on top but this Lions side is proving very tough to break down. Broadbent has them well organised at the back and their physical approach is tough to get through. A goal either way might just settle this.

45′ Shot on! A long range free kick is flicked goalward by Lanau-Atkinson but it’s straight at Kamara.

39′ Shot off! Pearce buys some room from 25 yards and looks to pick out the bottom corner but his effort is just wide, made pretty good contact but didn’t quite have the accuracy.

35′ Rangers are getting plenty of balls into the box but the Lions midfield are dropping back in support of their back 4 leaving them with 8 behind the ball quite often which is making them very hard to break down.

33′ A long ball into the box almost finds a diving Rodriguez who strains but can’t direct an effort goalward and it goes behind for a goal kick.

29′ Shot off! A free kick just outside the box is smashed over the bar by Nick LA.

24′ Offside flag denies a goal, Jones had seemingly unlocked them and Rodriguez tapped into an empty net from 6 yards out but he was offside.

Rangers have been the better of the two sides so far and had more of the play around their attacking area but Kingborough are defending well, getting plenty of bodies behind the ball to support their keeper.

20′ Shot on! Kamara denies Humphrey at the near post, sharp off his line to get down and block a good scoring chance.

13′ Fulton saves the day! A swift counter led to Hoddy bursting through the middle and getting in behind the lines but Fulton chased him down and executed a perfect sliding block just as he prepared to shoot, allowing Whatman to to grab the ball.

9′ A dangerous Rangers corner is swung in perfectly to the middle of the box where Jones rises and thumps the header wide.

5′ Shot on! Pat Lanau-Atkinson jinks inside and drives one hard at Kamara who again gets down to collect, this one more testing but still comfortable. All Rangers so far!

4′ Shot on! A long range hit from Anderson is easily gathered up by Kamara.

1′ And we are underway at the Den, beautiful day for football here at the Den.

Slight delay to kick off here. Probably looking at a 2:10pm start.

Welcome to what looms as an interesting clash down at the Den where the Kingborough Lions will look to continue their resurgence under Mark Broadbent when they take on Northern Rangers. They haven’t played at home since their 5-0 defeat to South Hobart which would spell the end of Garbiel Markaj’s tenure in charge. This is the first of the three weeks under Broadbent that the Lions will enter the game with expectations of getting a result on them and it will be interesting to see how that changes things for them and if they approach the game any different. It has been very much defence first in recent weeks which has helped them keep 2 clean sheets and stabilise their season, but at home against a side they have already beaten this year, they may well be slightly more expansive this week. Their star goalkeeper Sheku Kamara almost single handedly gained them a point last week and remains the key to their hopes, he is a genuine star and it means even if they are being outplayed they can hang in the contest. Rangers are in pretty good form at present though and will head down the highway believing they can take some points back home with them. Back to back victories over Clarence and City were followed by an honourable loss to South Hobart last week. This is a chance for them to put a buffer between the two sides and move 5 points clear in fifth place with hopes of chasing down Zebras by seasons end. Lose however and the Lions will jump them into fifth, leaving both within striking distance of the bottom 2, who will be trying to chase them in the top 6 to qualify for the end of season League Cup.

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The appetite for a professional sporting franchise down here remains as ravenous as ever. Tasmanian’s love their sport and they have been starved of representation in National competitions, looked over time after time. The AFL clearly won’t be the ones to sate that hunger, thus FFA finds itself with the chance to both fill that gap in the market and strike a blow against the AFL in one fell swoop.